Lives of the Lovelorn: The Black Knight [Spoilers, of course*]

* It does seem strange saying "spoilers" about twenty-year-old comics, but there you go. There are some spoilers here for Avengers 255-293 and 348-375.

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Superhero comics are known for having their portion of soap opera--loves lost, lost loves, dead loves and used-to-be-dead loves. While these tendencies vary with storyline and creative team, there are some characters who just seem prone to romantic problems--Spiderman comes to mind of course, and few heroes anywhere got as much action or as much hearthbreak as Iron Man. And just as in real life--where we all know someone who, if it weren't for bad luck, would have no luck at all in the romantic arena--there are comic book heroes who, in their personal lives, seem to make nothing but bad choices.

Case in point: Dane Whitman, the Black Knight. A Marvel second-stringer who has never had his own ongoing series but has been featured in several team books, the Black Knight just can't seem to find a woman who is interested, available, and stable. (Sometimes he manages two out of three.)

When he first encountered the Avengers back in 196? (issue #49), he was too busy fighting them to think about anything else. It was one of those typical hero-meets-heroes, heroes-think-hero-is-a-villain, hero-and-heroes-do-battle things. (It didn't help matters that Dane had taken the Black Knight mantle from his uncle, who had in fact been a super-villain and fought the Avengers in the past.) The confusion was inevitable, although eventually the Avengers figured out that this was not their old foe, but someone entirely different. In any case, at this time they parted on thorny terms.

He later joined the Avengers but went immediately to reserve status, so we didn't see a lot of him then either.

But when he finally had an extended term as an active Avenger, then we got to see him in action. This was in 1985, around issue 255. Among his fellow Avengers was Janet van Dyne, the wonderful Wasp, who was then acting as chair of the group. Jan, as always, was confident, outgoing, friendly and flirtatious. With everyone. She has almost always been portrayed that way. It's just the way she is, and it means nothing.

However, when an emotionally needy young Knight is the other party in these interactions, misunderstandings can arise. And pretty soon you've got this sort of thing going on:



But you know, this also shows one of the reasons the Black Knight is one of my favorite Avengers. Yes, here he is thinking about making his move...but do you notice why he's attracted to Jan? It's because of her confidence, her competence, her leadership skills! Impressive, even if he hasn't got a chance with her.

A few issues later, Jan and Dan are on--well, not a date, although I imagine he's thinking of it that way. She's asked him to accompany her to a celebrity gala for charity, one of the many good works of the Avengers in the mid-80s. They should have a wonderful time, if they can only run the press gauntlet. The reporters demand to know about the rumors of the Submariner (at this time an Avenger) having left the team. Jan stutters in surprise, Namor is only taking a leave of absence. The press continues to push the issue, and neither Jan nor Dane have ready answers. While the Knight stumbles to find his words, the press is distracted by the arrival at the gala of the dashing Paladin, the fellow the lovely Wasp is actually going out with at this point in time. She is, of course, thrilled and delighted to see him. The Knight is, of course, not. And it's none too long until his frustration comes to the fore:



(Jan's reaction, naturally, is somewhere in the area of "WTF?")

Not long after that, Dane realizes that his affection is unrequited and likely to stay that way, and attempts to fix the situation, managing to maintain a vaguely charming cluelessness with just a tinge of pathetic. He's set his cap for a woman who simply isn't interested in him in that way, and he takes responsibility for it--he doesn't blame her for her lack of interest, he doesn't try to press the issue when he sees that it's not going to happen, he just sees the way it is and tries to do what he can to manage his own feelings.



Soon after, he left the Avengers, returning several years later in 1992. The Wasp was not a member at this point, and since his crush had apparently dissipated by this time, he should have been doing just fine, and hopefully learned his lesson about realistic romantic goals. Also a member at this time was the beautiful Crystal, wife (separated but trying to reconcile) of Quicksilver.

And so begins one of the most uncomfortable bits of soap opera in the history of the Avengers, and a period during which the reader finds herself wondering whether some of these people have any ethical constraints whatsoever. It's also a painfully convoluted tale, and one I'm going to simplify considerably because otherwise I'd never get this written.

Dane was impressed from the start with Crystal's tactical ability and battle experience (once again, competence and skill are the first thing he notices about a potential love interest), but it wasn't long before he (sigh) started to think of her as more than a teammate. Crystal, unlike Jan, is no flirt--but she is a genuinely sweet-natured, open-hearted, warm, nice person who cares deeply about her friends. She has her issues and isn't necessarily the most emotionally mature person in any solar system, but until relatively recently she had yet to discover her inner regal bitch (see the Son of M mini). Before then, she may have been shown to be selfish, but never malicious.

When the kind-hearted Inhuman offered to help the Vision regain some of his lost emotions, Dane reacted protectively, citing a concern for her emotional state and telling the Vision that "she's looking for someone to be her support, her pillar of strength, and you kinda fit the bill," although he denied the existence of any inappropriate feeling.




Pretty soon Dane himself realized that he hadn't been quite honest with either the Vision or himself about how he felt about Crystal. Hey, it happens--a person develops a crush on someone else who is married or otherwise taken. It's unfortunate, but he can't help what he feels, and as long as he doesn't act on it, it's his own problem and no one else's. And he does his best, by trying to avoid too much contact with her, to stay away and not make his feelings known, and hopefully to get over them. So far, so good.

But it wasn't easy. As an Avenger, he had to see Crystal every day. He had to see her with her estranged husband (and former Avenger), Quicksilver. He had to deal with his own jealousy, and try his best to honestly wish her success in their reconciliation--because, really, he is a good person. It's just that when the heart is involved, even good people can find themselves thinking and doing things they really wish they wouldn't. And the Knight's heart is so easily involved.

And then there was Sersi, the mighty Eternal who had taken a shine to Dane, and wasn't the least bit shy about making her desires known. He didn't love her, but that didn't seem to matter to Sersi because she wanted him.

And as if things weren't complicated enough, Crystal herself had begun to be aware of some feelings for Dane. Not that she stopped loving her husband, that would have been too simple--but for someone like Crystal, so often led by emotion, it was difficult.

Sersi, for her part, continued to push her unwanted attentions on Dane, and eventually--worn down by Sersi's need, and desiring to do the right thing and not interfere with Crystal's troubled marriage--he agreed to become her...well, her, um...

All right, a bit of background. Sersi had been experiencing some mental and emotional difficulties, and there had been indications that she might become dangerous. The other Eternals came to get her and bring her home where she could be helped, or at least made harmless. The Avengers were disinclined to allow the removal of one of their members, but it was Dane who saved her by agreeing to become her "gann josin," which according to the Eternal Sprite was "an intimate version of the Uni-mind, a type of bonding that creates a mental union between two people and makes them lifelong soulmates." Dane was told this by Sprite because Sersi hadn't bothered to provide any meaningful context whatsoever. It's possible that, given this new information, he might have had second thoughts--only he wasn't given the chance. Without warning, the Eternal Ikaris performed the ritual transforming Dane. In a moment he was violated, mentally and emotionally:



And if that wasn't enough trauma and angst for one issue, Crystal chose that same evening to let him know that she, too, had feelings for him--and that "Pietro and I tried, but he rejected me at our last meeting." And, you know, Dane is a good guy. He tries to do the right thing. But here he had just been assaulted by a godlike being and forcibly linked to a woman he didn't love, and was already feeling the beginning of that unwelcome connection. And Crystal--the woman he did love, tells him (in rather uncertain terms, but still) that she is pretty much giving up on her marriage, or at least no longer committed to saving it. Can you really blame him if, in a moment of weakness, he takes that bit of hope and says to her "seize the moment...let's stop being noble" and, finally, kisses her? It's not heroic, but it's human, and it's understandable.

As for the rest, the next several issues were filled with steamy glances, hidden passions, regrets and the ever-present threat of Sersi's growing insanity. Finally Sersi, in a fit of rage, comes near killing Crystal, a shock that breaks the gann josin bond so that she and Dane are no longer connected. Eventually (I did say "spoilers," right?) we learn that Sersi was not responsible for any deaths, and in fact was being driven insane artificially, by an enemy. Unfortunately, by the time this was discovered she was too far gone, and elected to go alone through a dimensional rift into a pocket reality where she would be safe and cured, and could live out her days, sane and at peace. At the last moment, Dane decided to go with her--out of kindness and friendship, not of love--but he went, so that she would not be alone there.

See, that's why the Black Knight is cool. Not because he's ever going to be a major player in the Marvel Universe, because he isn't. Because he's human, and he struggles with what's right, and sometimes he falters, but in the end he is always going to come through, he is always going to make the right choice, not the easy choice. (Well, we can argue the point of whether going with Sersi was in fact the right choice--but he believed that it was.) That momentary lapse with Crystal? Not good, but under the circumstances, and after the assault and subsequent violent change he had just undergone, it was understandable. It was human. And inevitably, he fought off the temptation. Because he's a good man.

But damn, the man cannot pick a woman.